October, 2004 | |
 |
| Page 4 |
Travel web sites agree to be accessible to blind
In one of the first enforcement actions of the Americans with Disabilities Act on the Internet, two major travel services
have agreed to make sites more accessible to the blind and visually impaired. Priceline.com and Ramada.com have agreed to
changes that will allow users with "screen reader software" and other technology to navigate and listen to the text
throughout their Web sites, according to the New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. Although the software and other
devices, including a vibrating mouse that lets the blind "feel" boxes and images on the computer screen, have been
available for years, Web sites must have specific coding that allows the equipment to operate, Spitzer said. "This
is a precedent-setting decision," said Carl Augusto, president and CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind. "We
hope it's going to be influencing other companies throughout the United States so that the 10 million blind and
visually impaired can fully participate in our society at all levels." "It's the right thing to do, and it's good business,"
said Augusto, who is visually impaired. Spitzer's settlement follows investigations over the last two years to
determine if Web sites conform to the federal act and state law that require all "places of public accommodation" and
all "goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations" be accessible to the disabled.
Priceline.com has already made the Web site accessible for the visually disabled to get airline tickets, said the
firm's spokesman, Brian Ek. By the end of the year, the entire travel site will be accessible, he said. Ek said
the firm encourages other firms to do the same. He said the firm isn't releasing the cost of making the entire site accessible
for the visually disabled, but said it won't be enough to reduce earnings. A spokesman for Ramada.com didn't
immediately respond to a request for comment. "Accessible Web sites are the wave of the future and the right thing to
do," Spitzer said. "We applaud these companies for taking responsible and proper steps to make their Web sites
accessible to the blind and visually impaired. We urge all companies who have not done so to follow their lead."
Ramada.com and Priceline.com, which face no charges and make no admission of guilt, will pay the state $40,000
and $37,500 to cover the investigation's cost. Spitzer said both firms were cooperative.
Hotels let customers use Net to check in
Radisson Hotels & Resorts this week starts allowing guests to check in via the Internet up to a week before arrival.
The move, soon to be followed by Hilton Hotels, marks something of a second electronic wave in the hotel industry
as chains adopt high-tech lures to attract wired business travelers. The first wave -- the rush to install high-speed
Internet in guest rooms -- is nearly complete. Now, the industry is giving guests ways to use their electronic gadgetry
to minimize waiting or to otherwise enrich their lodging experience.
Now available or in the works: electronic, calorie-tabulating menus in hotel restaurants; Wi-Fi-enabled roaming
check-in clerks; and recharging cradles in rooms for Apple iPod personal music players. In December, Hilton launches advance
Web check-in at 2,216 hotels across all brands, including Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton Inn and Hilton Garden Inn.
If all goes as planned, Radisson and Hilton guests who check in over the Web will be able to flash identification or a
printout of their room confirmation at the front desk. They'll be handed a packet that includes a room key. Hilton
guests, at larger hotels, will be able to get their keys at the self-service kiosks that are being installed. Radisson's
"Express Yourself" Web check-in will be available to anyone who reserves a room. Seven days before arrival, customers
receive an email inviting them to check in at Radisson.com. Hilton plans to make its online check-in available 24 hours
before arrival.
More News That Sounds Like a Joke
British surfboard designer Jools Matthews, working with Intel Corp., built an Internet-ready surfboard with an 80-gigabyte,
wireless laptop, powered by solar panels and housing a video camera, for exhibition in June in Devon, England. The
waterproofed circuitry adds about 5 pounds to the 9-foot-long board and is carefully placed so as to retain surfer's
balance points.
October, 2004 | |
|
| Page 4 |
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
BRATS Home Page